Bridging the Gap: Employee Offboarding & Why It Matters

If employees were to leave with ill-feelings, whatever the circumstances, might start to spread rumours and lies which could negatively affect your company and consequently, cause future problems such as a lack of good hires. If so, there is a need to bridge this gap, between what can be done and what is actually done, when individuals are offboarded to minimise impacts, and instead help them to keep you in their good graces. So, what can Human Resources do to achieve this?

Why It Matters

Before taking a look at what companies ought to do in order to structure a proper offboarding plan, there is a need to delve further into why Offboarding matters in the first place.

According to Dollars and Sense ^[1] , the top three reasons for why proper offboarding matters would be helping to identify organisational weaknesses, strengthen employee branding, and opening up re-hiring opportunities. Evidently, these are such issues that are common and plaguing local companies. This suggests that intra-organisational management is insufficient when it comes to maximising value for company resources and that management has much ground to cover in order to optimise performance. If such issues are not looked after, companies might continue to underperform which could cause them to suffer in the long run. Undoubtedly, companies ought to reconsider the importance of offboarding for their benefit.

In Focus

So, when it comes to offboarding, one does not have to look further than TravelCenters of America to model themselves after.

As one of the largest companies in the Truck Stop industry in the United States, TravelCenters of America ^[2] is a shining example when it comes to employee offboarding.

Retaining Skilled Talent

Understanding that employee relations continue far after individuals have left the company, they have successfully incorporated an offboarding programme that has served them well. As TravelCenters of America recruiting supervisor Christian Perez terms it, their “boomerang initiative” helps maintain a bridge between the company and former employees. By treating them as alumni, the company proactively reaches out to outstanding performers who have left the company of their own accord to seek new pastures. Such a process has enabled TravelCenters of America to remind these former staff that their insight and contributions are still highly valued by the organisation, and that their doors are always remained opened for them.

A Local Context

It is important to note that job candidates of the modern era want to know more about potential employers. In a poll conducted by Adecco, 72% ^[4] of surveyed employees stated that they use mediums such as Glassdoor and Kununu to assess an employer’s reputation. Also worth noting is that companies offering a structured programme of rehiring alumni can, on the average, benefit from a 16% ^[5] higher Glassdoor rating.

Considering that a majority of local companies in Singapore pay no mind ^[6] to offboarding, such businesses will stand to lose out in the long haul. For instance, in the event of a labour crunch, where they’ll be at a disadvantage when it comes to hiring skilled talent to overcome their troubles. Companies that emphasis on offboarding, on the other hand, will have an easier means to power through such an obstacle with meaningful relations forged.

Thus, local businesses that do not have an effective offboarding programme in place should reconsider their efforts lest they fall behind the rest of the competition.

When All’s Said & Done

Often not looked upon with much emphasis, offboarding employees still has a major part to play in the world of Human Resources today. Considering this, companies that don’t have such a structured programme in place catering to such needs should, unquestionably, seek to change their methods. It is through proper offboarding programmes can businesses truly leverage upon previously non-existent capabilities, thereby building a firm foundation to help them power thought times of difficulty and unforeseen circumstances.

In structuring a proper offboarding programme, you should have a modern HRMS to assist you too. That’s why you should use QuickHR! With our comprehensive HRMS modules catering to Human Asset Management, Workforce Management and Human Capital Development, you will be empowered to streamline your organisations workflow and focus on dealing with the things that truly matter; democratising your systems, empowering your workforce and enabling agility.